The 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has made it clear that the party is not a shelter for politicians who have personal grudges against President Bola Tinubu or the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking during an interview on News Central’s breakfast show on Monday, Adebayo noted that while the SDP is open to accepting new members, it will not tolerate those who bring along the bad habits from their former political homes. According to him, anyone joining the party must accept its ideology and abandon past political misconduct.
“That is why you have seen some of the reactions as people are joining our party; we welcome them and we tell them ideological issues and we also tell them all these shenanigans that you do in your party, don’t bring them here,” Adebayo stated.
He warned new entrants against using the party as a battleground to settle personal political disputes. Adebayo stressed that the SDP’s focus is on serving the people, not furthering personal ambitions. “We don’t want them to come and change us; we want to change them, and we don’t want to be used for things that are not in the interest of the people,” he added.
Adebayo explained that all party structures across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory have been properly instructed to guide and educate new members. He cautioned them against picking up bad practices, such as engaging in fake registrations, setting up false structures, or promoting division along ethnic lines.
“We spend a lot of time educating our members. Do not suddenly get used to money you did not ask for or monies you did not work for. Do not start to learn a bad habit, start to set up fake structures, don’t start to do unlawful registration, don’t start to fragment yourselves, don’t start talking about ethnicity. So we keep educating our people,” he said.
Adebayo pointed out that despite pressure from some defectors trying to push old ways into the party, the SDP is standing firm. “When they come and say, oh, we want to move into a bigger secretariat, we need to buy this and that, people say, no, that’s not what we need in this party, maybe you should keep your money to yourself,” he explained.
He also mentioned a recent press conference by state party chairmen who told new members that the SDP would not compromise its core principles. “They said, look, you guys who are coming newly should study our ideology, don’t try to impose anything on us. We don’t need anything from you, just join the party and start behaving well,” Adebayo quoted.
Reflecting on a speech he gave at his wife’s 50th birthday, Adebayo reminded members that past grudges against Tinubu should not be brought into the party.
“If you were a former supporter of President Tinubu and you had your conspiracy against the people and you promised your own reward for that and they didn’t give it to you, that is not the basis to come to the SDP. And if you come to the SDP, don’t tell us; we don’t want to know, we’re not interested in it,” he said.
On a broader note, Adebayo reaffirmed the SDP’s strong opposition to the current administration’s policies. He made it clear that the party has no deals or understandings with the Tinubu government.
“It is known that we are opposed to President Tinubu vehemently on policy. We do not have a history with him, we have no understanding with him. When they won the election and they were offering us positions, we did not accept, we did not dramatise it, we just told them, ‘Sorry, keep your position to yourself, run your government, we will be here offering alternative policies’,” Adebayo noted.
Finally, he said anyone seeking to join forces with the SDP must show true commitment to the people and be ready to account for past actions. Only those who genuinely embrace the party’s values and prove themselves over time will be considered for leadership roles.
“Once you do all of that, you can then join our party, grow in the structure and when we see that you have behaved very well, maybe not in this election, maybe in a future election, we will start to feature you,” Adebayo concluded.
